NHL.com's John McGourty continues his conversation with Red Wings legend Gordie Howe today, and in a very candid discussion about players scrapping on trains, learning how to handle hostile fans, and a surprising set of insights into the people who helped Mr. Hockey become a hockey player, Howe reveals that he had a few tremendous role models to lean on when he was rounding the corner from solid midget-age player to a junior hockey phenom:

March 28, NHL.com: "Kids need help just as much today as I did back then," Gordie said. "What kid can afford ice time? Parents have to do an awful lot when they have a kid who wants to pursue a hockey career.

"Nobody who ever made it into the NHL did it alone. Everyone gets help or they don't get there, whether it's your parents or a coach or another player. When my brother, Vern, played senior hockey before he went in the Army in World War II, I was his biggest fan. I was a little, tiny bugger, 8 or 9 years old and I always wanted to go to the rink, walk to the rink, three miles away.

"I'd get all dressed up and Vern would put out two bags and I'd carry the one with his uniform. I would go into the rink and into the dressing room with him. I learned so much, especially the language! But it really was a learning experience. Vern would tell me to watch so-and-so if I wanted to be a good right winger.

"Harry Watson was five years older than me and playing in the NHL during the war," Howe continued. "He'd come home and tell me about what it was like to play in the League. I remember him instructing me in puckhandling down at the bus turnaround circle in Saskatoon. It was brightly lit at night and we'd practice for hours."

That recalled a story Howe told NHL.com a few years ago about Watson's continued interest and assistance.

"Harry got me an invitation to a charity game for Air Force families when I was 14 and I scored a goal against Turk Broda; a 14-year-old kid scoring on an NHL goaltender. How about that? Turk was aware of me because he knew my five sisters. After the game, he said, 'We'll see you in the NHL.' My first NHL game was against Toronto and again I scored on Broda. He looked at me and said, "I told you you'd be here." My first game and it's one of my career highlights to think someone of that stature would remember me."

NHL.com's John Kreiser continues the NHL's celebration of Howe's 80th birthday by devoting a substantial portion of his "By the Numbers" column to Howe-related stats:

March 28, NHL.com: Howe won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer six times, the most of anyone in the pre-Wayne Gretzky era (Gretzky had 10; Howe and Mario Lemieux are next with six). The last one came in 1962-63, when he turned 35 (Gretzky won his last scoring title at 33; Lemieux's last one came when he was 31). Howe finished in the top five in the NHL in points an amazing 20 consecutive seasons; counting 1969-70, he had 21 consecutive top-10 finishes.

He's the only player to score 100 points in a season after turning 40. Howe was third in the NHL with 103 points (44 goals, 59 assists) in 1968-69, reaching triple figures just after he turned 41. It was his only 100-point season in the NHL.
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Howe set the Wings' franchise record with five game-winning goals in a month -- he did it in February 1952 and again in January 1958. Henrik Zetterberg matched the record in February 2007, getting five in an eight- game stretch. Johan Franzen has equaled the mark this month, getting his fifth in Tuesday night's 2-1 win against St. Louis.

Unless Gretzky has a son who becomes an NHL player, Gordie and sons Mark and Marty figure to hold the League mark for most points by a father-son combination for a while. Together, the Howes have 1,000 goals and 1,623 assists for 2,623 points in the NHL; Gretzky's NHL scoring totals are 894-1,963-2,857.

Howe had a "Gordie Howe hat trick" -- a goal, an assist and a fighting major in the same game -- once in his career. It happened Dec. 22, 1955, in Detroit's 3-2 victory against the Bruins at Boston Garden. Howe assisted on Real Chevrefils' power-play goal at 3:30 of the first period and tied the game at 2-2 with a goal at 18:19 of the second against Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk. The fight came against another Hall of Famer, Boston defenseman Leo Boivin, at 4:37 of the first period.